Kindred’sUK-facing 32Red has reimbursed a Northern Ireland company after an employeestole £590K and spent it on the casino website over the course of a year.
32Red Reimburses Employer for Stolen Cash
British casino operator 32Redhas reimbursed an Irish problem gambler’s employer £590,000 (US$760,000),after the website had failed to verify the source of the money and notice thedisparity between the player’s personal finances and sudden increase in bettingactivity.
On Tuesday, November 19, LondonberryCrown Court received confirmation that the Kindred brand had restored theamount to defendant Tracey Curran’s employer S3 Alliance, an industrialequipment supplier company. The employee had used various debit and creditcards to embezzle the sum and then spend it on the UK casino website.
Mr. Curran pleaded guilty inOctober, accepting six counts of fraud by false representation. Theembezzlement scheme lasted a year and ran between January 2016 and April2017. A Public Prosecution Service informed the court that the funds hadbeen reimbursed.
The latest case surrounding the32Red brand seeks out a positive development, after the brand suffered multiplefrictions with regulators over the past few years.
32Red Recovers from Hefty Penalties
In the past year, 32Red has madeheadlines on several occasions, specifically in a regulatory context. Theoperator was slapped with a hefty penalty in June, 2018 for failing to committo proper anti-money laundering measures as well as achieve the necessarystandard of social responsibility.
The fine amounted to £2million (US$2.6 million), the largest in the history of the company. Onthe particular occasion leading up to the fine, 32Red had accepted £709,000(US$914,000) from a VIP customer over a period of three years.
Other than that, the AdvertisementStandards Authority (ASA) cautioned the operator over anadvertisement featuring Jack and the Beanstalk, deeming it inappropriate asit may reach children. ASA censored the ad.
The regulator’s official stanceread:
“We therefore considered that, by targeting ads to search engine users who used that term, 32Red had not specifically and carefully targeted the ad only at those aged 18 or over, and had therefore directed gambling ads to those aged under 18 years of age.”
In August, the company was alsocriticized over a sponsorship deal with Derby County, an English Championshipsoccer team. As per the deal’s terms, soccer players from Derby County had #32on their jerseys, which people found to be a stark reference to gambling.
This is especially true now that sportsbooks in the United Kingdom have negotiated a voluntary pre-watershed ban to help keep betting exposure among underage individuals young adults at a minimum.
British Firms to Bolster Protection Efforts
Earlier in November, a number ofBritish gambling companies pledged to introduce enhanced safety measures, includingbetter measures to counteract underage gambling, more support for gambling harmtreatment, and better code of conduct in marketing campaigns.
Furthermore, the companiesconsidered adding better overall customer environment and a culture of safergambling. Bet365, William Hill and the Ladbrokes and GVC have all decided tosupport 7BALL the measures.
